In 2014, to mark 40 years of its international research, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is facilitating a series of events that highlight the ways in which livestock research advances the global development agenda, specifically for sustainable food and nutritional security, economic well-being and healthy lives. Continue reading
Category Archives: ILRI
ILRI staff and finance updates from the director general
Jimmy Smith, director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), at his last town hall for staff (24 April) had the following staff and financial updates to report. Continue reading
African talent feeding African markets with African products: Global food and agribusiness meeting hears of ‘livestock value chains’ in Africa
In Jun 2014 three agricultural economists working with the International Livestock Research Institute presented case studies at the World Forum of the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) in Cape Town, South Africa. The main lesson from the two cases presented is that by training farmers, processors and other stakeholders supporting agribusiness development, African talent can create new products and innovative processes that help feed African markets with African products. Continue reading
ILRI-Tanzania country office opens in Dar es Salaam
The Minister for Livestock and Fisheries Development in Tanzania, Hon Titus Mlengeya (MP) officially opened the ILRI-Tanzania country office on Friday 13 Jun 2014 in Dar es Salaam. Continue reading
Deadly strain of bird flu in China linked to live poultry markets; high-risk spots in Asia mapped–New study
A new study reveals conditions linked to the emergence and spread of deadly bird flu and maps the areas of Asia at greatest risk of the spread of the new virus strain. A dangerous strain of avian influenza, H7N9, that’s causing severe illness and deaths in China may be inhabiting a small fraction of its potential range and appears at risk of spreading to other suitable areas of India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, according to a new study published today in the journal Nature Communications. Continue reading
Assessing societal changes from changing dairy value chains in Sahelian pastoral communities
ILRI’s Jo Cadilhon introduces a method being tried out in Senegal to measure the social impacts of dairy supply chain innovation in pastoralist societies.
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New UK funding for disease surveillance will improve health and farming in Kenya
The University of Liverpool has been given funding to start a surveillance program to reduce the incidence of diseases transmitted between people and livestock in western Kenya. The £3.6 million grant will train veterinary and medical technicians to monitor farms, markets and slaughterhouses. They will use a mobile data collection system to generate a comprehensive database of the prevalence and economic impact of these diseases. The information generated will be used to provide evidence for government health policy in the area. Continue reading
New maps for navigating a sea of changes in livestock production
A collaborative effort by some of the world’s leading agriculture experts has produced a new set of maps published today in the journal PLoS ONE that provides the most detailed rendition ever produced of the billions of cattle, pigs, poultry and other livestock living in the world today. Continue reading
Hard numbers: Making the business case for massive investments in ‘One Health’ to protect ‘One World’
The time has come to make the bigger case for massive investment in One Health to transform the management of neglected and emerging zoonoses and to save the lives of millions of people and hundreds of millions of animals whose production supports and nourishes billions of impoverished people per annum. Continue reading
Getting (the band) back together: US climate report sees reconnecting crops to livestock as smart adaption strategy
The new National Climate Assessment released recently by President Obama’s Global Change Research Program contains dour predictions about the impact of climate change on livestock production in the United States. How can the country’s livestock sector adapt to these changes? One strategy suggested in the report will be familiar to experts at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). It involves raising livestock and crops together and taking advantage of the synergies between the two. Continue reading